The snow has finally come but the ski slopes aren’t open yet, it’s impossible to take a ride on the longboard due to snow and the wind blows from the wrong direction so there hasn’t been any surf either. The surfers on the south/east coast seems to have had a bit more luck with the wind and the waves! My body itches from restlessness so I took a trip to the gym and worked out for a bit, did some stretching and yoga as well. Im currently trying do learn to do a handstand, which is not going very well, but i got time to practice a bit more on my formarm- and headstand. Took some pictures with the mobil camera, the quality isn’t the best.

To navigate in the jungle of surfboards can be quite a challenge but it’s also a very fun project . Through the years I had time to try a few different boards but there’s one that I always surf a little better and that it’s particularly satisfying to take out of the closet. It’s a Bourton Bottomfeeder 5’11 that I bought last time I was in Bali, may take the opportunity to recommend Naruki Surf Shop ( Popies II / JL Benesari , Kuta ) which I think is the best surf shop in Bali. They have a large selection of surfboards, friendly staff, reasonable prices and they do a fantastic job fixing dings. After the first surf- session with this surfboard I was in love! It is easy to paddle, even if it’s narrower and thinner than my previous boards, it ‘s easy to duck-dive. I love how easy it is to generate speed and to make sharp turns. Thanks to this board I dare to paddle into waves that are a bit overhead and quite steep. Waves that I otherwise tend to be too much of a coward to take and risk nosediving.

The reason I’m going so well with this surfboard I think is because I got very good help to select it. It is tailored to my skill level, not too difficult but provides challenging enough for helping me to develop properly. It simply fits me and my needs. Unfortunately, I seldom get to use it in Sweden where the waves are often a bit too week and I prefer to have a board with a little more volume. But when I am abroad , this is the obvious choice and certainly the funniest board I’ve ever tested !

What a irruption of readers the blog got after surfsverige’s facebook page noticed my little “surf school”-project. FUN! Welcome all new readers

The last couple of days me and my dear study companion have been preparing for the last steps of our bachelors thesis and yesterday we were in Växjö to present it. Everything went well so now I’m another step closer to graduation! I was also persuaded to accompany a friend on a strength / cardio workouts she held with her extremely well-trained teammates in floorball. Can say that I was the weakest, most tired, least fit but probably also the one who laughed at my own poor performance the most! But I like challenges and today my muscle soreness and fatigue is out of this world…

I have always liked to challenge myself especially when it comes to trials involving physical strength, agility and balance. Have some sort of bucket list of things I want to do before I leave this earth life. This has resulted in; except that I have started surfing, snowboarding and longboarding that I also fairly pull off a variety of strange things so as to makeone chin-up, to cartwheel, do a headstand with the legs behind my head, make a rather ugly pirouette on ice-skates, the wheel pose with almost straight legs etc etc. Learn to handstand, play the drums, run 10 km and be able to go down into a split / splits are challenges that I for some reason never manages to complete …

Putting up a goal and then take a few minutes each day / week to deal with the challenge I think is extremely rewarding for the self-confidence and an opportunity to play a little more in the everyday life. The feeling when you finally pull off something you wanted to learn is worth gold. What are your challenges in everyday life you want to manage? Get better at parallel parking? Bake the perfect chocolate fondant? Manage to lift a 100 kg in bench press? Share your goals and challenges to inspire the rest of us!

Learning to snowboard, thanks to this guy in the picture, is one of the funniest challenges so far!

After two measly attempts I gave up learning to play drums…

A very good way to improve your body control

There are lots of fun stuff to learn with a pair of ice-skates and some kind of ice

I figured I should start a little “surf school” here at the blog. Many other blogs have photo tutorials, training tips and stuff like that so why not run a series of (hopefully) useful surf tips?! The first part will contain tips and things needed to be able to surf in Sweden in the winter.

Many are surprised when they hear that there are people who surfs in Sweden, that we often do it in the middle of the winter does not seldom lead to great consternation. But when the surf abstinence becomes too great and the waves are rolling in, then there are to no other alternative but to adapt to the conditions. To appreciate the winter surf proper equipment is however required.

A well fitted wetsuit is key, this is particularly important when the water is really cold. If the suit is too small you will not be able to move freely, if it is too big, it will take in water and you will quickly be cooled down . My wetsuit is a 5/3 mm which I actually think is a bit to thin when the temperature goes below 8 degrees celsius so for the next season I will invest in a new 6/5/4mm suit. I usually wear a base layer, shirt and hotpants, for a little extra wamth but they need to be of high quality materials, like wool, that dissipates moisture.

I have found that to stay warm as long as possible I need a pair of boots that fits perfectly. I used a pair of 5 mm from Rip Curl last fall but was for several reasons not at all happy with them and bought a pair 7 mm O’Neill instead which suited me much better. It’s really important that the boots fits you well, otherwise they will be filled with water and it’s like having two bags of ice cold water on your feets. Good luck being agile in your pop-ups like that! So make sure to try the boots beforehand unless you are extremely well informed about the various brands and models. The boots should be tight and hard to get in, that means that water can not penetrate as easily. Given that the feets are in the water most of the time I think that you should spend some time and money to find a couple of proper boots that fits well!

Use a hood! Mine is 3 mm which I find is enough . If you want to avoid surfers ear (which you should), you can get a couple of earplugs suited for surfing. I forgot to use mine last time but will be back with a little review after the next surf session. There are a couple of different models of gloves, I think the mitten – or lobstermodellen are the ones that keeps the heat best, mine are 5/3 mm.

Some other preparations that I think is of importance ; be sure to avoid getting cold before you get in the water. Run a few laps to warm up and to avoid injuries, and have some kind of hot beverage just before you get in the water. I would also recommend to get out of the water as soon as you starts to freeze , hypothermia can be lethal and sets in quite quickly. However, I tend not to live by these premises myself but instead I stay in the water for at least an hour after I start to get really cold, which may not be advisable, but when you are “just going to have one more wave” the time tends to pass very quickly . If you are a beginner at surfing you should probably not go out by yourself but more on that in a later post. Last but not least, make sure you have been eating and drinking properly before surfing. The body needs a lot of energy, not just for all the paddling but when you get cold the body needs even more energy and it’s important to have some reserves.

Hope you liked this first part of the “surf school” and that you find it informative, please let me know if you have any questions and I will try to answer them . Next episode will be about how to know where to surf. Stay tuned and stoked!

Alla dagar kan inte vara fulla med bikinisurf i blågrönt vatten…

Sometimes you just have to settle with wind waves, a lot of neoprene…and water droplets on the lens!